"I thought he made some crucial saves," Union head coach Rick Bennett said following Union's 3-1 defeat of Providence. "He's done it all season. It just kind of shows what type of goalie he is.

"At the big stage, he can do the same thing. When we needed him to play big, he played big."

At times Saturday, Stevens needed his defenders to play big. They did. Every time.

Junior Shayne Gostisbehere -- the only defenseman among the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker -- turned goalie for a brief spell in the first period to preserve a 1-0 lead. With Stevens out of position off a rebound, the 170-pound defenseman dove to the ice to block a flurry of shots.

"I just didn't want that puck to cross that line," Gostisbehere said. "I thanked (Stevens) for making that save three minutes before. ... I thought we owed him one."

Providence had enough trouble beating Stevens. Throw in another obstacle in front of the net and the Friars were left shaking their heads.

"Last night I said he's their best forward," Providence head coach Nate Leaman said of Gostisbehere. "Tonight he might be their best goalie."

Make no mistake, Stevens was Union's best goalie. He was in the regular season, he was along the way to a third straight ECAC title, and he was in the regional.

Stevens stopped 48 of the 51 shots he faced over two games in Bridgeport. Union's gritty defense stopped a bunch more in front of him. It's what they do.

"Nobody's an individual on this team," said forward Kevin Sullivan, a Darien native. "You look at some of the best players -- Mat Bodie, Dan Carr, Shayne Gostisbehere -- they all sacrifice their bodies to get the puck out of the zone."

It's a big reason why Union, once an afterthought in college hockey, has formed into a power. The Dutchmen earned their first No. 1 ranking in their 23rd season in Division I, and they'll head to the Frozen Four in Philadelphia next weekend a strong contender for the title.

Winners of 10 straight, the Dutchmen haven't lost in over a month. Their 15-game unbeaten streak is the longest in the nation.

Providence took nearly two periods to generate a consistent rush against Union's defense. By then, goals by Bodie and Max Novak, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, already had the Friars down 2-0.

"Their D-core as a whole, they get so much team speed," Leaman said. "The (defense) can always get the puck on their forwards' sticks. They have great mobility back there. ... The first couple shifts, they threw our forwards off and put them on their heels.